The Las Vegas Raiders fell to 2-9 following a 24-10 defeat against the Cleveland Browns in Week 12, as their offense struggled once again. This season, the unit has consistently underperformed, ranking near the bottom of the NFL in scoring.
In five of their last seven games, Las Vegas have failed to record 20 or more points, which is one of the reasons why they are currently on a five-game losing streak. As a result, the Raiders announced on November 23 that they had fired Chip Kelly as their offensive coordinator.
“I spoke with Chip Kelly earlier this evening and informed him of his release as offensive coordinator of the Raiders,” Carroll said in the statement. “I would like to thank Chip for his service and wish him all the best in the future.”
Moreover, FOX Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer spoke with Kelly and relayed the coach’s reaction to the Raiders’ decision to make a change.
“I am grateful for the opportunity with the Raiders, bottom line in this league you have to win,” Kelly said on November 23, per Glazer. “I really loved those players, I’m a huge, HUGE Geno Smith fan, that was one of the best parts of this experience for me, working with Geno and those guys every day. But hey, we gotta win. I get it.”
Pete Carroll Didn’t Sound Happy About the Raiders’ Offense
The decision might have been looming as Carroll wasn’t pleased with the offense after the loss to the Browns.
“[I]f you don’t score, you can’t win. And we couldn’t score,” Carroll said after the loss. “It was an incredible game of defense on both sides – their team, our team,” he added. “The numbers were whatever. … We had opportunities to make big plays and we didn’t hit them. The QB was under duress the entire time. Our ability to match up with their pass rush didn’t work out well.”
The Raiders’ Offense Gave Up 10 Sacks
For Las Vegas, they again went pass-heavy, as Geno Smith completed 30 of 44 passes for 285 yards and one touchdown. Nonetheless, that decision from Kelly came at a cost: The offensive line allowed 10 sacks.
Moreover, Smith’s drop-back passes didn’t result in more points, as the Raiders scored only 10, leading to their fifth straight loss for the Silver and Black. After the loss to the Browns, Smith spoke to reporters and shared what happened on offense that led to him being sacked 10 times.
“It’s really on me,” Smith said about getting sacked on 10 occasions. “I got to make better plays, find a way… I wasn’t counting the plays or the sacks so that’s new information to me; I was just trying to go out there and execute and try to get the job done. In the first half, it looked like there were maybe two separate plays where there was some miscommunication and not everyone knew what the play was.”
The Raiders now turn their attention to a Week 13 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers, aiming to finish the season on a positive note with someone else running the offense.
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